CHICAGO (CBS) — The weather in Chicago made history this week–with temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday setting daily records and ranking among the coldest in Chicago history.
The low temperature on Wednesday hit 23 below, and it was 21 below on Thursday. Both those readings crack the top 10 coldest days ever.
The worst-ever wind chill happened on Christmas Eve 1983: minus 57, adjusted for a new wind chill formula adopted about 15 years ago. Under the old formula, the chill was recorded at minus 82. The wind chills on Wednesday came close to that record, with readings of around 50 below zero.
The coldest day ever happened on Jan. 20, 1985.
It was 27 degrees below zero that day.
Here is a list of the coldest recorded days in Chicago:
| Date | Temperature |
|---|---|
| Jan. 20, 1985 | 27 below zero |
| Jan 10, 1982 | 26 below zero |
| Jan. 16, 1982 | 25 below zero |
| Dec. 24, 1983 | 25 below zero |
| Dec. 24, 1872 | 23 below zero |
| Jan. 17, 1982 | 23 below zero |
| Jan. 19, 1985 | 23 below zero |
| Jan. 30, 2019 | 23 below zero |
| Jan. 21, 1984 | 22 below zero |
| Dec 22, 1872 | 21 below zero |
| Jan. 31, 2019 | 21 below zero |
| Feb. 9, 1899 | 21 below zero |
| Dec. 23, 1983 | 21 below zero |
| Jan. 18, 1994 | 21 below zero |
| Jan. 9, 1875 | 20 below zero |
| Jan. 25, 1897 | 20 below zero |
| Jan. 20, 1984 | 20 below zero |